I have tons to say but all of my new thoughts are going to take hours to put on paper and tonight I want to listen to American Politics. So, I will just tell you what a typical day is like for me here in Brasil?
Monday through Friday….
I wake up at 5:30, it takes me about 20 minutes to get dressed as I take a shower the night before. I then go down stairs and make my coffee and sit by the computer for 30 minutes… I prepare my day, goof around on the internet, listen to politics, or create my conversation classes. Sometimes I think this is the best part of my day.
I then set off for class at 6:20… When I get to the school, I am greeted by Adilson. He is a car watcher who has had a really hard life. I don’t give him money all of the time, because I park there 2 times during the day. He has slurred speech as I am thinking that he also has a disease like Muscular Sclerosis and a probable alcoholic. He tries to talk in English though I can’t really make out what he is saying. Sometimes I get frustrated with him following me around, but I have issues with beggars I guess. I'm American...I like to give money away but I do not like being asked for it everyday… makes sense right?
Sometimes he parks people really close to me so that he will have to help me move my car and so that I will give him some change. I have been thinking lately that driving the extra ¾ circle might be the best option for me to avoid dealing with him every morning. Many times when I arrive he opens my back door because it has a seal that is broken and looks ajar. He also always taps on my glass as I am driving off too as he tries to help me out of a space that is completely free of cars at either end. I know he wants to provide a service to me, but I just dont see the value in the service that he is offering thats all.
Ok, then I tech my 2 classes usually and then head home to find Gabi waiting for me. Sometimes she will slide open the front window and yell outside or I will see her riding her tricycle towards the gates. Today she was riding holding a bag in her hand full of random things and her babies. She is so funny.
Then I go inside and have my breakfast. This time I make coffee with milk and sugar along with that I eat a piece of bread with a cheese spread and sit to check my email. Soon, I am up washing and hanging clothes to dry and cleaning the dishes. I will take a shower and get Gabi ready to walk to pick up Ben from school at 11:15 am.
When we get to Ben, we are usually late because Gabi walks very SL O W. Ben runs out and then he runs to the Tree beside the school to climb for a minute or two. When I can convince the kids to carry on we head for home. Usually I give them each 5 centavos so that they can choose a piece a gum from the corner market when we get home. When we are home, Ben plays a game on the Computer and Gabi…well usually creates a mess. She likes to wash her bike, to get into anything dangerous, put her hands in the grill, wash the refrigerator, ride her bike through water, and her favorite washing the dishes while I start to make lunch. Sometimes I just put her in the shower downstairs so that she can mess around while I make dinner. I give her a sponge and soap and let her go at it.
We then have a huge lunch and take a nap. Brazilian lunch is the biggest meal of the day. We may go to the park when we wake up if there is time. Then the kids go to the babysitter and Rodrigo and I go to work till about 8:30, dinner and then kids sleep.
So, then I do my blog usually and listen to American Politics. You see there is plenty of time to focus on the things that I love from here. It sounds like a dream living in a Tropical country but wherever you go… there you are. Don’t get me wrong, everything is so so different but life is the same and so is the life in a foreign country, I just have different conversations. The hardest thing for me to comprehend was that was I am not on Vacation in a foreign country… I live here. So, that is that and now I wait for the wonderful summer and frequent trips to the ocean. This is when it gets tropical again for my family.
